The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
by R Gurl
Summary: Starring an original character, it's a day gone awry when an old friend drops in unexpectedly.... (PWP, ZMxOC)


The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy

The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy

By: R Gurl

Standard Disclaimers apply for anything that might appear.

(AN's: This little fic takes place in the year After Colony 199, I failed to mention that in the main story. The entire fic is in the OC's P.O.V., which is first person. The original character is the star. ^_^ Oh yeah, it's also a PWP)

(Key: *action * 'thought' "speech" (obviously. ^^;;))

Rating: G

Warning: MAJOR mush content toward the end. Those who have little or no imagination should not read this. Also, Zechs x Noin fans, you have been warned. ^^;;;;

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The morning had seemed to start like any other day, get up, go to practice, eat lunch, go home….but ….today differed.

"Hey! Want to race again?" asked one of my good friends and teammate, Jeremy.

"Yeah! Come on Kate! One more, please?" that was my friend Kylie.

"Oh alright…one more couldn't hurt." I hesitantly complied. 

"On your marks, get set, GO!" screamed the coach.

'Oh well, at least this is the last round, I'm getting really tired' I thought as we sped along the track at a breakneck pace. It was all going fine, until I was literally eating dust.I had fallen pretty badly. 

"Kate! Kate! Are you alright??" I heard Jeremy say from what had seemed like a mile away.

"Ugghh…yeah, I think so.." that was pretty much all I could say after that.After a moment there were two slightly taller figures looming over me.

"Are you alright?" said a rather deep voice.

'What the- where did they come from?' "Ummm… yeah, *cough * I think." 

"Here, let me help," said the voice again as he stuck out his hand. 

"Appreciate it" Was all I could choke out, because, standing over me, was none other than an old friend and classmate, Zechs Merquise; and standing not far behind was Lucrezia Noin."What the heck are you two doing here?!?" I practically yelled, I was so excited, and frustrated at the same time. 

"Well…we heard that you had been accepted onto one of the local track teams, so we, um…. came to cheer you on?" squeaked a sweatdropping Zechs. He couldn't seem to get any more out, so Noin took over from there. 

"Yeah, that's about…right." Noin appeared very nervous too. 

'Oh give me a break'"I don't buy that for a second, what's the _real_ reason you're here? I haven't seen or heard from you in two years, and you decide to drop by _now_?!" 

"Oh alright, we were sent here to give you a package.Please don't ask what's in it, because I have no idea. And we honestly wanted to watch the practice when we got here!" Noin bit her lip.

"*sigh * Guess I could buy that…for now."I noticed Zechs sigh in some sort of relief. 

"Uhm…that's all fine & dandy, but _we_ still have no idea who _they _are!" squealed an exasperated Jeremy.

"Oh yeah! Sorry Jeremy! *sweatdrop *. This is Zechs, and this is Noin. I went to school with them at the Lake Victoria Academy.I was also with them during the Eve Wars, and the Mariemaia incident as well." I proudly stated.

"WOW! You mean you're a soldier?!"

"Yes, I was at one point. All of my instructors said that I had amazing abilities as a Newtype pilot, but I never made it past the simulation field."

"Why not?" I could tell he was curious now... 

"Well, I had to go take care of my family. That's more important than battles, right?" 

"Right," replied an incredibly concentrated Jeremy.

"Um, Noin?" I asked.

"Yes, what is it Kate?" 

"Didn't you have some sort of package for me?"

"Ah yes, shall we go get it?"

"Yes, I'll accompany you."

"That would be just fine." 

"Err…can I come too?" Jeremy asked like a little child.

"Of course, come on." replied Zechs. 

"Gee thanks!" he yelled as he proceeded to bounce off in the direction we were headed.Since I thought it was kind of difficult to walk beside them and talk at the same time, I decided to walk backwards and face them instead. 

"Where exactly did you park anyway?"

"Over there" Noin said as she pointed to a large empty field. 

"You sure? Because I don't see anything but five miles of dead grass…" 

"Exactly." Was her wry response; she pushed a button on what looked like a remote control, and her trademark white Taurus appeared out of nowhere. 

"Oh wow! I never thought I'd get to actually see one of those things up close!" exclaimed an unnecessarily excited Jeremy. 

"Yes, but weren't all the mobile suits destroyed after the war?" 

"They were indeed, but, I managed to keep this one intact. For travel purposes only, of course." 

"Noin, you never cease to amaze me."

"It really isn't that big of a deal, you know…um, Zechs?" 

"Yes?"

"Could you go back a little ways and check if anyone decided to follow us?"

"Sure thing," he said as he started off in the other direction.After a few minutes later I could see him coming back, huffing and puffing, with the news.But before he could make it Noin stuck out her foot and he fell…on top of me. Our lips met in the barest of hesitant brushes. When our brains had processed what had happened, we both turned a brighter shade of red than either of us thought possible. 

'Oh my God…that did not just happen!'

"Sorry…" we had somehow managed to mumble at the same time.Jeremy had stopped bouncing just long enough to see the entire thing. 

'Nice timing. Ugh.'"Umm…Zechs?"

"Yes Kate?" 

"Would you mind getting off me?"

"*sweatdrop *Oh, so sorry. Of course." The weight shifted and we both stood up rather shakily…still fazed from falling. 

"Wha-"

"Don't ask Jeremy…please." I quickly interrupted.

"*sweatdrop * Uhh…sure, no problem there."At that moment, the sky began to darken, and rain started falling in big drops from the sky. 

'Suddenly I feel like Charlie Brown.'"Greeeat." We all said at the same time. 

"Come on, I have some extra umbrellas in my Taurus." At the time we arrived at the big white suit, not one of us wasn't sopping wet. 

"I think it might be a little late for the umbrellas." Said Jeremy sarcastically. 

"Maybe, but we do have the walk back to consider." Declared Noin as she rummaged through the storage compartment."Here, you and Zechs can share an umbrella" she said as she handed us one. "Here you go Jeremy, and I'll take this one." 

"Let's go back now, the storm's getting worse." Said Zechs. 

"Good idea." We all agreed.

We took a shortcut across the field to save time; all the while each one of us were huddled up inside of our umbrellas, searching for warmth. When we did finally come to the other side, we found the rest of the team huddled together talking among themselves.Even after arriving at the other end of the field, we still remained huddled up inside of the umbrellas.

"Hey! Hey! Kate!" yelled an ecstatic Marlayna."What's up? Haven't seen you around too much!"

"Yeah, sure has been a long time, huh?" I said. 

"Hmm…maybe I'm delirious or something, but you do look awful familiar to me…" she said, looking at Zechs.

"Zechs Merquise…pleasure."Thud.Marlayna had fainted before she could even utter his name. 

"Wonder what's eating her?" Jeremy inquired. 

"I have no idea, but I'll ask questions later, let's just get her out of the rain." I said as murmurs of agreement spread throughout the rest of the team. But, before anyone could even make an attempt at moving her, a sharp yell could be heard in the distance. 

"Hilde babe!" came the scream. 

"Uh o-" Thud."Duoooo! I swear!!" 

"Hey Hilde!" 

"Maxwell! For the last time, I'M NOT HILDE!!!!" 

"*blink blink *Oh. Then, who are you?"

"I can't believe you don't remember me Duo, I saw you last week!! I'm Kate…remember?!" 

"Oh yeah! Sorry Kate! Eh…would you happen to know where Hilde is? *sweatdrop *"

"I think she showed up for practice today…check with the coach over there." 

"O-kees."Everyone watched in complete shock as Duo bounced off to find the coach.

"Okay…now that that's over, who drove themselves to practice today?" Silence."Okaaay then…guess I might be able to fit all of us into my truck.Let's go." I said.

"I can drive myself, but here's the address list for all the members of the team." Spoke up the once silent coach.

"Alrighty. Let's go!The rain's getting worse!" Everyone piled into the truck, and it was a little more squished than originally intended. Noin took Marlayna with her into the front seat, along with Zechs and me too.Most of the trip was spent in that awful suspenseful silence, with the exception of Noin reading off the addresses of the team members. At last…the last houses… 'That took longer than I thought it would…'"Noin, what's the last address?" 

"It's Marlayna's, but…um…she's still unconscious, and she's not on the team, so that's a problem."

"Maybe I can remember where she lives…. ah, here!" I exclaimed as I pointed to a dot on the map.After several wrong turns and arguments later, we made it to her house."Here, I'll take her up, come along if you want." I said.

"That's good, I'll come and help you." Said Noin.

"Thank-you" I put simply. 

"I'll come along too, but maybe I should stand off in case anyone else who lives there faints too." 

"*laugh * He he. That's a good one!" Noin and I blurted out simultaneously."Wow…she seems a lot heavier than she did a few minutes ago..." I said as we got back into the truck. 

"Okay Noin, guess it's your turn. Where to?"

"Hmm…Cameron's expecting me soon, so you can just drop me off at his place, if it's not too much trouble." 

"Not at all, now…where does he live?"

She simply said "Here," as she pointed to a specific spot on the map.

'Okay, now to get us there in one piece.'"Here we are Noin, take care!" We waved good-bye to her, and went on our way. "So…um, where should I take you?" I said to Zechs in a rather cautious tone.

"Oh, I'm at the old apartment building at the corner of 35th and R Street, you know where that is, right?" 

"Of course I do silly! I'll have us there in a jiff!" 'Almost there…. hum…'"This is it. Oh, but um, before you go…" 

"Hn?"

"Yeah, um. Here." I said as I gave him a semi-folded piece of paper. 'Sure hope that wasn't a mistake to do that' He opened up the piece of paper and simply smiled in return. 'Whew'"Call me later, ok?" 

"Can do." He said, wearing the silliest grin on his face.

"See you later then?"

"Definitely" was his straightforward answer.I waited until he was in the building, and then drove off.

'Now, off to my parents' house for a long overdue visit'.After a few minutes I had arrived at my parents' house… 'Hasn't changed a bit' I thought with a wry smile on my face.I wanted to surprise them, so I came in through the back entrance. "Hello? Hello? Hello?"'Wow…what an echo…' "Anyone he-oof! What the?" was all I could yell after I had been pinned to the floor by several _very_ big dogs."Huh? Oh. Quatre!!! Get your dogs offa me!!" I whined at the top of my lungs. 

"Hello? Oh sorry about that. Let me help"

"What are you doing here anyway?" was all I could say after being at the bottom of the doggy-pile."I _was_ here with Dorothy, but she told me to stay here while she went to the store. She hasn't been back for a while." 

"Um…alright. One more question though, why was Dorothy here??"

"I dunno….she just….was?" *sweatdrop*

*sigh* "Alright. I've seen enough today to believe _anything_." There was a large shriek that came form the main room a few moments later. "WHAT was THAT?" I yelled. 

"Oh, that's probably just Rashid and Abdul. They insisted on coming along with me. But all they're doing is drinking beer and watching TV" said Quatre, who was now in a huff because they weren't helping. 

"*blinkblink* Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to go say hi…" 

"If you want…it's kinda like 'enter at your own risk' in there."

"I get it, let's go anyway."

"*shrug*" I think Quatre was at a loss for once.I was not mentally prepared in any way for the sight before me now. Abdul and Rashid were both completely drunk beyond drunk, and…watching football?! 

'I didn't know they still played football…' "Hey Abdul, Rashid."

"Oh hi Kate! But, what are you *hic * doing *hic* in *hic* our house? *hic *" 

"Um…yeah…ok…maybe I should leave now…" 'Quatre was right, this place isn't much better than a mental institution!'The hallway down to my parents' room seemed endless. 'Maybe it's because it's been so long.'"Hi mom….um…how've you been lately?" 

"Why hello sweetie! Long-" 

"I know, 'Long time no see', right?" 

"How'd you know?"

"Trust me" was all I could think of as I rolled my eyes back in my head.

"So…how've things been going for you?" 

"Oh alright. Can you handle the full story?" 

"Of course, I'm not going anywhere."

"Okay, here goes…." I related every detail of my downright odd day to her. "By the way, did you know that Quatre's still here?" I had said when I was done. 

"He is? The poor boy…must still be waiting for Dorothy to come back. He can stay as long as he likes, and you be sure to tell him that! Oh, and, do you have any idea why she was here anyway?"

"Got me" 'Man this is getting weird…' "Yes ma'am." I absentmindedly went back to old military customs. 'Oops…wonder if she'll notice?' "Well…I'd better get going, the storm isn't going to wait for me to finish. Good-bye!" I waved good-bye to my mom and went off to find Quatre. "Quatre?" nothing. "QUATRE!" Still nothing. 'Hmmm, wonder where he got to?' I thought as I continued to search the house. As I came to the main room, I found Quatre asleep on the couch, with Abdul and Rashid nearby dozing silently. 'He'll be alright' I thought with a smile.I crept out the door to my truck as quietly as possible, so as if not to disturb anyone."Well, this has certainly been one of the more interesting days I've had." I murmured out loud.

The drive home seemed so much longer than normal. 'Maybe it's because you're alone.' "Yeah, maybe" "Wow. Now I'm talking to myself…I really must've lost it…" "Ah, home, finally. Wow it's been a long day. *yawn*"I was so tired I almost didn't make it all the way to my room.I was in fact quite surprised when my answering machine was blinking red. "Huh? A message? This late at night?" I looked at the clock… "Oh, it's only 4:30" I shrugged it off. I was too tired to deal with it now anyway.Now, who could've called? *beep* 

_ _

_"Hi Kate, it's Zechs.I was wondering if you would like to go out to dinner with me tonight…if you're not sick from getting so wet earlier. *laugh* How does pizza sound? If you don't have it already, my number's 531-6996. Call me back."_

*beep* I had nearly fainted after hearing this.'So I gave him my number…but I didn't think he'd actually CALL it!'"What time is it?" I said to myself in a hurried tone. "4:45, okay, I've got time, better call him back."I dialed his number, and not-so-patiently waited for his voice to appear on the other end. 

"Hello?" answered Zechs. 

"Hi Zechs! It's me, Kate!"

"Oh hello Kate! I see you got my message?" 

"Yes, I did, and I'd love to join you for dinner tonight! Is eight alright? I might need some time…"

"Yeah, eight sounds great. See you then." 

"Bye…" I barely got that last word out as I hung up the phone."Yeesss!! I don't believe this!" I laughed.I looked back over at the clock and yelled. "Yikes! Gotta get ready!!"When 6:30 rolled around, I was basically ready to go, except for one thing… "What to wear?!?""Argh! Oh wait" I exclaimed as a brilliant idea hit me. "I'll just call him back!" 

*click * went the receiver when I had finished talking to him. "So…just casual huh? Okay, I can do that."At 7:30, I was completely ready. I had decided to wear dark jeans (dressier than normal jeans, mind you!), with a long sleeved turtleneck sweater."Okay, I think I finally got it this time!"I exhaled loudly from rushing around so much.Now it was 7:45, and I had pretty much worn out the Grand Canyon in my rug from pacing back & forth so much. I sighed deeply and tried to calm my nerves, but to no avail."I might as well just sit down and wait, I mean, pacing isn't doing me any good, and I don't think I can say much for my rug either…"*ding dong* I jumped a mile."Yipes! Oh, It's probably just him."'Don't just sit there! Answer it!' now my conscience is screaming at me!I opened the door, but it wasn't exactly who I was expecting to see… "Hi Ze -oh hey Hilde! What're you doing here?" 

"Err…" came her hesitant reply. 

"Hmm…came to hide from the giant ball of energy that is Duo?" 

"Yeah, that's right." 

"Well, come on in if you want, but, I must tell you, one- I'm leaving in a few minutes, and two- Duo knows where I live, and he's not that stupid." 

"Oh. Right. You do have a point there. Where are you going?"

"Well…um…" was all I could mutter while trying not to turn a very bright shade of red. "Zechsaskedmeoutonadate, ok?"

"English please" 

"That was English"

"I'm not saying it again"

"Humph! Well, um… lemme think….""!!!!!!Zechs asked you out?!?!"

"Uh huh uh huhuh huh!"

"Do you mean it?" 

"Yes." 

"Your totally serious?"

"Yes!! Do you think I would joke on something like that?"

"Yes."

"Ugh."*ding-dong* I was prepared for this one; especially after the shock that Hilde gave me."That better be him this time." 

"Uh-huh." Was all Hilde could say, because she wasn't paying attention.

"You ready to go?" 

"Oh hi. Yeah, sure, let's go." I managed to say as we walked out to his car.

The entirety of the ride passed in almost complete silence, mainly because we were both quite nervous. We did finally get there, which had seemed like hours, I was very surprised when he came around and opened my door for me. 

"T-thank you." I choked out. 'Come on! That was pathetic!' my conscience screamed at me, again; even though my simple thank-you was greeted with a warm smile. "Shall we go in?" I said as I took his hand. He squeezed mine tight as we walked through the doors.

"Oh gods I thought we'd never get seated!" sighed Zechs, loudly.

"Yeah, and I don't think I could take any more people staring at us like we're insane." I replied as I shook my head."Oh well, at least the menus aren't too 'under-aged'." I added to my last comment, which had seemed pretty silly to me.We ordered our food, and not long after it came, we were paid a little visit from the Mad Hatter. 'What's this guy doing at a pizza place? Now I've seen everything.' "Uh-oh, look who's headed this way." I said to Zechs as I nodded in the Hatter's direction.

"Crap. There goes trying to keep a low profile." 

"I know what you mean- shhh! – here he comes!" I hissed regretfully.

"What was that you said? I didn't quite catch it!" yelled the Hatter.

I let out a whimper that was only audible to those within ten feet of me; that was pretty much everyone.'Great, I just made us the number one source of entertainment for the evening'.

"C'mon young lady! Spit it out! There'll be no secrets here! Unless, of course, only _he_ can hear it, huh?" he hissed as he leaned his giant foam head in Zechs' direction.That got quite a few people laughing, and not to mention whistling. 

'Ughh…this is sooo embarrassing!!' I mused to myself as the people continued laughing."Would you like some tea?" He asked me.

"No! No thanks!" 'I'm not that stupid…' 

"Aww…come on! How about a half-cup of tea?"

"Um….*gulp* alright. Half a cup couldn't hurt." 

"That's the spirit!" he said as he took the pot of tea, and instead of tea, this impish little green thing popped out, and well…landed on my head.Even Zechs was laughing this time, so I figured I could loosen up a little and laugh, too."You most likely know who I am by now, so how bout you tell us your names now?" 

"Alright. You can call me Lieutenant Kate Riley."I caught a menacing glance from Zechs' direction, and quickly corrected myself."Kate will do just fine."

"And what about you sir?"

"My name is Colonel Zechs Merquise."I quickly elbowed him. "Ow-you can call me Zechs, if you like."The mentioning of our names and previous military titles aroused a disturbed murmur from the crowd.

"SO, why are you two here?"We both turned beet red, again; that seemed to be all the prompting he needed. "Ah, I see.So you're here on a date, are you?" Our faces got even redder, as we (very) slowly nodded our heads yes."Ha! I knew it! Hey everyone! We've got a couple of lovebirds out on a date over here!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

'Now he's gone too far!' I thought as Zechs and I both buried our heads in our hands to avoid the obvious gazes of the people around us.Some other groups started whispering something that sounded like a secret, so The Hatter decided to go over there and bug them.

"Good grief…" I heard Zechs mutter under his breath. 

"I feel just like you…glad he's gone." 

"Attention all customers:Last dance of the evening! Anyone who would still like to dance please head over to the center of the floor now." Boomed the loudspeaker.

"Odd… " I muttered.

"May I have this dance?" Zechs asked, offering me his hand. 

"But of course," I said, taking his hand and following him over to the dance floor. The song they had chosen for the last dance was a slow song called 'Here with Me'.'I'm glad it's slow; I don't think I have enough energy to deal with a faster one.This is so perfect.'I thought as I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist. Just when the song had ended, he…kissed me?!?! It lasted only but a few moments, but, during those moments, the only thing I could hear were people cheering and whistling.'Looks like I was right after all.'We eventually did break the kiss, and both of us were at a loss for words, but that was okay, since there was no need for words now.The next thing we knew, the guards were ushering everyone off the stage like little children. "Alright already, we're going." I mumbled under my breath.I don't think anyone else heard me, but that's probably good.We returned to our seats, paid the tab, and headed home.

"That was one of the more interesting night's I've had…"

"Yeah, same here" I laughed."But, next time, how about bumper cars? I think they might be safer…"

"Sounds like a good plan to me!"We both laughed as we drove the rest of the way home.

ENDé!

[][1]E-mail Me!

C&C Greatly appreciated. Argitou. ^___^

   [1]: mailto:Norules730680871@aol.com



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